The H Pathway will provide an exciting, personalised high energy approach to the curriculum where students will be learning through a multitude of approaches across all subjects. Students will experience a high level of challenge and expectation across a range of subjects to drive progress for

all. Every curriculum pathway is designed to raise aspirations and achievement for every student.

Your child has been making good and expected progress to date and we are committed to this improving from day one at William Howard. This pathway will ensure that your child is challenged in all subjects at the appropriate level to maximise learning and progress. Students of the same ability and attitude to learning will work together to maximise every learning opportunity that this pathway offers.

In Year 7 Maths we aim to build on learners’ prior knowledge so that they have a strong base from which to move through the school. In the first term our emphasis is on ensuring learners have strong numeracy skills. Throughout the year these are developed and shaped to tackle problems in the areas of; Number, Algebra, Ratio, Geometry and Probability & Statistics. On the H pathway students will master mental and written methods when working with integers, fractions, decimals and percentages. They will also explore the uses of algebra in the wider world and develop their understanding of how to collect and analyse data within the realm of Statistics.

During Year 7, students in English will complete units of work that consolidate and develop the skills of Reading, Writing and Spoken English that were embedded at KS2. Primarily, students will learn to identify and interpret information and gather evidence form a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. Students will also extend their ability to analyse and evaluate writers’ methods and explore how writers’ choices influence the reader. Students’ written skills will be developed by ensuring that they can communicate clearly and effectively, while writing for a range of purposes and audiences; they will learn to structure their writing in a more sophisticated way and use an increasingly complex range of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. We aim to equip the students with the skills to become confident speakers by refining their ability to communicate clearly in formal and informal situations. Critically, we want our students to gain a love of reading and encourage a thirst for knowledge about language. In Year 7, the students will cover the units: Autobiography, Introduction to Shakespeare, Film and Media: Classic Tales, The Novel and Victorian Writers and their Stories.

such as; source handling; significance; interpretations; cause and consequence and source evaluation. These skills will then be embedded through the study of topics such as the Greeks, the Anglo-Saxons and Norman conquest, life in the Middle Ages and through an investigation into the lives of the Native American Indians. Student's will become more confident in applying these key skills as they receive feedback throughout the year. Students in H pathway will be taught the same subject content, with regular opportunities built in for independent work and extension tasks.

Students in Year 7 study a varied curriculum in History which begins with a skills unit. This has been

designed to refine, consolidate and assess students' understanding and application of key historical skills

In the Autumn term students will follow a course entitled: ‘It’s Your Planet’. This is followed by a ‘map skills’ unit in the Spring term. There is then a unit entitled ‘About the UK’ which covers the settlement of people in the UK. In the Summer term there is a unit on ‘rivers’ which includes the water cycle, processes, landforms and flooding issues. Geography fieldwork in Year 7 should take place in the Summer term. All students will be taught the same concepts and be assessed at regular intervals in order to enable them to have a knowledge of globally significant physical and human features and understand in some detail what a number of places are like, how and why they are similar and different and how and why they are changing.

The scheme of work followed by all students focuses on the involvement of all students in the fundamental musical activities of performing, listening and composing. All students are given the opportunity to try a range of instruments in the classroom including voice, guitar, bass, drums and keyboard before settling as soon as possible onto the instrument that suits them best. Students go on to compose film music to fit a storyboard of their own creation. A theory course appropriate to each student is also followed during the year which helps to make sense of the composing and performing activities.

A variety of sports are used to deliver the outcomes of the curriculum that is based around six key areas of development: Social: This focuses on developing and assessing student leadership skills. Students are given the opportunity to experience different roles and responsibilities and learn to lead as well as learn to follow. Cognitive: Focusing on tactics and strategies. Personal: The personal module focuses on challenge and resilience. Creative: Students develop their creative side in a variety of situations. Health: Health

education is taught in an innovative way to highlight to students the importance of a healthy balanced lifestyle. Physical: A physical development strand runs through every block with the emphasis on students

refining the basic and advanced skills that can be transferred into every sporting situation.

During Year 7 we do small group and whole group exploration and improvisation based on: a poem, a theme and in response to a photograph. During these lessons we introduce some of the elements, strategies and medium of Drama. In the third term we explore a play text and how to transfer ‘from page to performance’ which is an introduction to interpretation, creating a role and performance skills.

The lessons in Year 7 are designed to enable our students to develop the skills, knowledge and disposition needed to stay safe, make reasoned choices about their healthy lifestyles and to play a full and active part in their community. At William Howard, Personal Development includes the connected subjects of PSHE and Citizenship, and within these we will explore topics relating to personal and financial wellbeing, careers education, health education and Citizenship. In Year 7 the Citizenship topics including the work of local government, Human Rights, the role of charities and the importance of personal engagement with the community. Our health work covers prescription

In Year 7 RE students are encouraged to think about thinking. Each week they will have a thought-provoking question to discuss at home. The aim is for students to develop skills of explaining their own opinions, and those of others. During the year in class we look at a series of topics covering at a range of diverse questions – is there anything that stays the same? What does it mean to be human? How should human beings treat one another? RE also helps students develop skills of empathy, tolerance and understanding; we also look at a series of world religions, finding out what people think and why they think it.

drugs, smoking and vaping, healthy eating and exercise as well as the changes young people undergo during puberty. Financial education sessions will explore the role and purpose of money and the importance of good financial planning.

In Year 7 Science, the students will cover the units: Basics of Life (cells, organ systems, human skeleton), Biological Relationships (reproduction in humans and plants, variation, environment), Particles (solids, liquids, gases and separation techniques), Chemical Reactions (chemical formulae, energy in reactions, neutralisation), Energy & Forces (energy types & transfer, balanced & unbalanced forces, aerodynamics and friction) and Electricity & Magnetism (circuits, electromagnetism, static electricity). Throughout the year, students will also develop their scientific skills looking at scientific attitudes, experimentation and data analysis.

Students start the year building on the foundation skills. They develop drawing skills exploring line, tone, mark-making and texture. They produce observation work looking at proportion and scale. Students then move onto colour theory and research the work of Henri Matisse producing work inspired by his in a wide range of materials and techniques. They finish the year with a cultural project on African art. This is a 3D recycling project where students get to respond to materials,

patterns and textures from African culture.

This subject involves students following a Focused Practical Task in the first instance to introduce them

to the design process and the tools, machinery and skills require to produce products with a high level

of accuracy and skill. Once they have mastered these skills students will be expected to use them to

design, manufacture and evaluate their next piece of work on a more independent level.

All students study hardware components and software applications, coding basics and digital literacy

using an online resource that they can also use for homelearning.

During Year 7, students will be introduced to the language and

culture of the French-speaking world.

The Present Tense will be the main tense studied this year.

Students will learn how to use numbers, adjectives,

connectives, express likes and dislikes and justify their

opinions. They will also develop their ability to give detail and

description.

Their Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills will be

developed through the study of topics such as: The French-

speaking World, Hello, Family and friends, Free time, School.

With parental consent, students will be allowed to bring their own devices into school to assist with their learning when directed by the classroom teacher. Students can bring items such as iPads and Tablets, digital cameras and Dictaphones when they have been asked to by the classroom teacher for learning purposes.

We want every student to realise their potential and be the best they can be. That is why our new

assessment structure clearly sets out a progress path for every student. It is expected that all students will

make better than expected progress during their time at William Howard. The new assessment structure

will allow parents and carers to clearly understand what ‘better than expected’ progress means and track

progress throughout the year in every subject. This understanding and insight will allow parents and carers

to support learning effectively for their child.

You will receive the following reports throughout the year; a written narrative once a year from the Subject

Teacher and Form Tutor and a data report.

The data report will consist of 2 parts.

1. A table of results showing the current assessment for your child, their attitude to their learning and

the target that we would expect your child to achieve at the end of Key Stage 4.

2. A flight path which displays the trajectory that we would expect your child to achieve throughout

their time at William Howard School.

There are a few things to note, and which will take a little time to get used to.

The new scale. 8 being equivalent to A* and 1 being equivalent to G, although the exact match is a

little more complicated than this! For simplicity at this stage we are adopting the scale as per the

flight path.

As long as your child achieves the expected value they will be progressing. For example, a

student with a target of 4 at the end of KS4 would expect to receive a value of 4 in every year if

they were working at expected progress. Below a 4 and they would be underachieving, below

expected progress, above a 4 and they would be above expected progress.

It is expected that your child’s progress falls between the 2 lines on the flight path.

Student name: Amy Student Form Group: 7AS

Date Attendance Secondary Ready

Spring Term 2015 99.00% Ready

Subject Year 7

Attitude to Learning (ATL)

Expected Level of Progress

Autumn Spring Summer Outstanding, Good,

Satisfactory, Concerning, Poor

(1-9)

English 5 5 5 Satisfactory 5

Maths 6 6 6 Outstanding 5

Languages 4 4 4 Satisfactory 5

Humanities 6 6 6 Good 5

Science 6 6 6 Outstanding 5

Art 5 5 5 Satisfactory 5

Drama 5 5 5 Good 5

Tech 5 5 5 Outstanding 5

Please find the 'flight path' for your child below. We hope that the report table and this will help you to understand how well your child is doing in school at the current time but also what we would expect them

to achieve by the time they take their exams at the end of Year 11.

Year 6 Points Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 New

Target Level

Old Target Level

120+

9 A**

115 8 A*

110 7 A

105 6 B

100 5 C

95 4 D

90 3 E

85 2 F

80 1 G

The Year 6 point score (on the left of the table) gives an indication of the level that your child finished primary school. It allows us to approximate where we expect them to be at the end of Year 11. The government deem your child to be ‘secondary ready’ if they achieve 100 points or more in their key stage

2 tests.

The New Target Levels indicate GCSE grades. They replace the alphabetic system which was A* to G. The

new system runs from 9 to 1. The columns indicate how the new grading system equates to the old grades. Expected progress is indicated by the lower, horizontal line. We would expect your child to be between the 2 lines during their time at William Howard School. The higher they are the more above expected progress they would be. What will this look like in the classroom?

Every subject will be using an assessment for learning grid giving students the knowledge of what they need

to know, understand and be able to do in order to make the desired progress and be successful in their

learning. All subject assessment for learning grids will be published on the school website throughout the

year. This will enable parents/carers to support student learning from home. A copy of the grid can be seen

below:

In Year 7 there is a homelearning schedule for every subject to enable students and parents to manage their home learning effectively.

Homelearning Schedule to follow in the new

academic year.